Kevin Garcia's Monomyth Project

Kevin Garcia's Monomyth Project - Page Text Content

FC: The Curious Incident of the the Dog in the Night-Time By: Kevin Garcia

1: The Call | The Call to adventure in the novel, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is when the main character Christopher John Francis Boone finds Mrs. Shears dog "In the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shears house" with a fork in it. (Haddon 1) He stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him and for what reason (Haddon 2). Christopher is determined to find out who killed Wellington and starts writing a murder mystery novel. Christopher states that "I am going to find out who killed Wellington" (Haddon 20).

2: The Refusal to Call | Upon return from the police station, Christopher's father tells him, "Just try and keep your nose out of other people's business"(Haddon 20). Without knowing exactly what this means, Christopher questions people about the murder of Wellington. When Christopher's father finds out about this he makes Christopher promise to stop "The ridiculous game" and Christopher promises (Haddon 50). Christopher doesn't break his promise but he finds a way around it by thinking of all of the things he had promised and finds exceptions like "Asking about Mr. Shears wasn't any of these things" to Mrs. Alexander (Haddon 56).

3: Crossing the Threshold | Crossing the Threshold occurred in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time when Christopher leaves his home and spends the night hiding in the garden (Haddon 124, 126). Christopher leaves is home out of fear of his father. After Christopher finds out that his father has killed Wellington, Christopher is terrified. Christopher also feels like he can't trust his father after finding out that he had been hiding letters that his mother had been sending him for the past couple of years. Up until that point, Christopher's father had told him that his mother was dead: "Mother had not died. Mother had been alive all the time. And Father had lied about this" (Haddon 112). Christopher has now stepped out of his comfort zone and begins his journey to his mother's house.

4: Super Natural Aid | The supernatural aid in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is Christopher's neighbor, Mrs. Alexander. Mrs. Alexander is an old woman who is very caring towards Christopher. Mrs. Alexander, in a way, is supportive of his detective work (Haddon 40). Mrs. Alexander gives Christopher the information to get further into his investigation. Mrs. Alexander tells Christopher that his dad hates Mr. Shears, who is his prime suspect. She tells him that his mother left his father for Mr. Shears (Haddon 60). Though Mrs. Alexander regrets telling him, this was just the information Christopher needed to go deeper in his journey (Haddon 61).

5: The Road of Trials | During the road of trials in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Christopher is traveling to London to his mother's house when along the way; Christopher is caught by the police. The police almost take him back home to his father (Haddon 159) but escapes by hiding on a train (Haddon 163). Later, he barely escapes being hit by a train by being rescued by a man (Haddon 182, 183). Christopher did not only did he encounter physical obstacles, but social ones as well. On his journey, after living in a nice house his whole life, he learns how to be on his own and what goes on in the real world. He has to deal with his autism and how it affects himself and other people.

6: The Goddess | The Goddess in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is Christopher's teacher, Siobhan. Throughout the whole book Christopher remembers Siobhan's advice, which aids his journey. Her advice does not just deal with academics but with social situations too. She's one of the few people who Christopher respects and trusts. Christopher uses what she taught him to help him on his journey, like taking deep breaths when he's angry or scared (Haddon 137) or doing something that has a rhythm to it when he's nervous (Haddon 154).

7: Apotheosis | The apotheosis in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is when Christopher completes his journey and reunites with his mother (Haddon 190). Now he knows that his mother is alive and well. He did this all on his own, which makes him proud. Also, he finally takes his A level math exam and scores an A on it, completing his goal. (Haddon 220). These accomplishments made him more confident as an individual and a great sense of pride.

8: Refusal of Return | After arriving at his mother's house, at first, Christopher didn't want to go back home because he was terrified of his father. He felt comfortable around his mother and liked living with her (Haddon 197). After much thinking, his mother decided to leave London with Christopher and go back to live in Swindon, where his father was. When Christopher was told this he asked "Is Father going to be there?...I don't want to be with Father" (Haddon 207).

9: Master of Two Worlds | Christopher has mastered living with his mother and visiting his father on the weekends. Looking back Christopher realizes all that he has accomplished that he wouldn't have if he did not take the call, like going to London alone, finding his mother, getting an A on his math exam, figuring out who killed Wellington, and writing a book about all his adventures. When he looks back on all this, he realizes how brave he's been. He then believes that he can accomplish his goals and dreams of getting an A in A level physics, going to a university and getting a First Class Honors Degree, and even becoming a scientist. Regarding his dreams, Christopher said, "'And I know I can do this because...I can do anything'" (Haddon 221).